SAINTS have ended months of uncertainty by confirming Paul Wellens will remain as head coach for the 2025 season.

Wellens stepped up from the assistant’s role to succeed his mentor Kristian Woolf as boss in October 2022, signing a two-year deal with the option of a third in the club’s favour.

The club have now triggered the 12-month extension, standing by their man despite a difficult campaign that featured an early Challenge Cup exit and recently saw them slump to five defeats on the spin for the first time since 1986.

There was significant mitigation in those July defeats – not least the volume of injuries that has beset the side this term.

But it has been a rocky road at times for the hometown hero after a dream start at the helm. His first competitive match in charge saw Saints bring the World Club Challenge home from Australia after the Golden Point win over Penrith.

Saints ended last year’s Super League in third spot, with the same amount of wins as Wigan and Catalans, but behind them on points difference.

It was a tight campaign, and all about fine margins, but they ended the year with no major domestic final appearances for the first time since 2018 after semi-final defeats in the Challenge Cup by Leigh and a late Sam Tomkins try ending their road to Old Trafford in Perpignan.

This year has been equally tough, although they led the table in spring the heavy defeats at Hull KR and at home to Warrington in the Challenge Cup hung over them even before the injury-depleted side went on a five-game losing streak.

Wellens retains the trust of the board to steer the ship forward at a club in transition, both in terms of its ageing personnel and a need to evolve a playing style from the one inherited from Woolf.

His side has not been without his critics - particularly with the ball - and some fans who were prepared to tolerate Woolf's dour, abrasive style when it was delivering trophies have been less forgiving when it ends in defeat and knockout.

Wellens finds himself in that challenging position of transitioning a dynasty through to its next phase - with adjustments in style going alongside the replacement of some players who have been pivotal to the club's recent success.  

With Wellens signed on again, the club must also back their faith in him by refreshing and replacing the personnel, with the Saints side in desperate need of an injection of pace across the back line.

And today chairman Eamonn McManus indicated that this would be the case both with the playing roster and coaching side.

Saints have recently announced the signing of Tristan Sailor to effectively replace the departing Dodd in the halves, but there are still holes to fill – not least on the flanks which will be compounded by the end of term departure of Tommy Makinson.

But hopefully this announcement will calm a few jitters.

The 44-year-old was highly decorated as a player, winning all the sport’s the individual accolades - Lance Todd Trophy, Harry Sunderland and the Steve Prescott Man of Steel to go alongside his multiple team awards.

A significant hip injury ended his playing career at Easter 2015, five games short of the landmark 500 club appearance mark.

Although the one-club man is relatively young for a head coach, Wellens has served his time in the boot room and worked his way Player Performance Manager, working with the Academy and then the Reserves, before stepping up to be assistant coach at first-team level.

In that time he has worked under Justin Holbrook and Woolf during the club’s four Grand Final wins in a row.

On the international stage he has worked under legendary coach Wayne Bennett, Shaun Wane as well as under Woolf as Tonga’s assistant.